I began trading in the late 1990s, when trading platforms for retail traders were being developed. Suddenly, I could switch timeframes easily, draw support and resistance lines, and display studies such as the MACD. Until that point, this was the domain of institutional traders with expensive terminals and data feeds. But the process was still manual: I would eyeball a chart and decide where a support/resistance level should be, what points I should use for a Fibonacci retracement or whether a chart pattern was present. This took years to practice over thousands of charts (literally).
Autochartist collapses that learning curve. Today’s technology is marked by computing power and big data to recognize patterns. Trading is an ideal domain to take advantage of modern-day algorithmic pattern recognition, being such a data-heavy environment producing lots of patterns and plenty of correlations. Autochartist takes advantage of that in what I believe is one of the best ways for retail traders. It scans for chart patterns, key levels and even when the price looks like it’s approaching them, and even has the sophistication to differentiate between completed patterns vs. emerging ones. I particularly like their feature of displaying which symbols will be affected by economic data releases. This was always a missing step for me in most economic calendars.
Many brokers offer Autochartist, but I would not recommend using a subpar broker to access it, because ultimately, your trading will suffer. So let’s look at the best Forex brokers offering Autochartist.
Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology.
Now let’s delve into the selected brokers.
Founded in 2007, IC Markets is an Australian-headquartered broker with Tier 1 regulation under Australia’s ASIC. It also holds Tier 1 regulation in Europe (through Cyprus’s CySEC), and another license in the Seychelles (FSA) for other international clients. (The regulation that applies to you will generally depend on your residence. For example, Australian residents will automatically fall under ASIC. This will also affect the maximum leverage you can access.)
Key Features:
I tested EUR/USD during the London and New York sessions (the most active sessions for Forex), and the spread averaged 0.8 pips, better than the industry average of 1.0 pips without commissions. Their execution speed is reasonable, but it does not fall into the ultra-fast category. That said, I believe it’s fast enough for most traders’ needs.
IC Markets lets clients access Autochartist as an MT4 and MT5 plugin that they can download from the IC Markets Client Area or the Autochartist site. MT4/MT5 is available on IC Markets Standard and Raw accounts, meaning Autochartist users can access both these account types for their trading.
Why did I pick IC Markets as Best Overall? Simply because I think it does a great job in each of the critical categories that traders want. It has solid execution, Tier 1 regulation, a good number of markets (Forex, Commodities, Indices, Bonds, Cryptocurrencies, Stocks, and Futures), decent spreads, and 24/7 support. There isn’t a single major thing I think the company does badly.
If I were giving the award for the strongest brand identity, then it would go to IG. It has become one of the most recognized names in the industry, one of the longest-standing, having operated for more than 50 years, and is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange. There are not many other brokers that can come anywhere close to this level of presence.
As you can imagine, given its size, it offers access to every market imaginable: over 17,000 instruments across Forex, commodities, indices, share CFDs, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and more.
Key Features:
IG integrates Autochartist in the desktop version of MT4 and the IG Autochartist website.
The broker is known in the industry for its technology infrastructure for Direct Market Access (DMA) execution and the liquidity it can access. Large brokers, such as IG, have the resources to put towards quality technology, and in IG’s case, I believe the results show up for clients in the two most critical areas traders want: spreads and execution speed.
I opened an IG CFD Trading account, which supports commission-free trading (except for share CFDs). It had floating spreads from 0.6 pips in my test, which is better than the industry average. I measured their average execution speed at 14 milliseconds, which is highly impressive for a broker with such a broad range of asset classes.
Although I’m highlighting IG’s low spreads and its Autochartist integration in this part of the review, I think it also stands out for its L2 Dealer DMA platform. The depth of order data means the platform can give multiple types of volume analysis on charts.
Founded in 1996, OANDA holds Tier 1 regulation in multiple regions, including the UK (FCA), Canada (CIRO), Australia (ASIC), Singapore (MAS),, and Japan (FSA). (This part of the review is separate from their US entity, OANDA US, which is regulated by the CFTC and NFA.) The regulation that applies to you will generally depend on your residence. For example, Australian residents will automatically fall under ASIC. This will also affect the maximum leverage you can access.
Key Features:
My live test showed the spread for EUR/USD on its CFD trading account averaged 1.25 pips, slightly higher than the industry average of 1.0 pips.
OANDA Web is one of the best proprietary trading platforms available, in no small part because rather than developing everything in-house, it’s partnered with TradingView and incorporated many of their features, and then gives Autochartist access layered on top. And then the whole thing is powered by OANDA’s execution engine, i.e., no external technology for filling trades, making it fast and accurate. That’s essentially why I gave it the Best Platform label in the Autochartist category.
If users want, they can simply trade their OANDA accounts directly through TradingView rather than OANDA Web.
The number of trading instruments OANDA offers will depend on your region, but generally, OANDA gives access to Forex, indices, metals, bonds, and commodities to all regions.
Founded in 1996, OANDA US falls under the regulation of the CFTC and NFA. (Note that this review is specifically for their US entity, OANDA US, and not the overall brand, OANDA.)
OANDA US has the basic MT4 offering (but not MT5; however, they offer a free MT4 premium upgrade for additional tools and indicators) and TradingView. I believe these MT4 and TradingView alone would cover about 80% of traders. Clients can trade the OANDA account directly from TradingView. The OANDA Web platform allows users to manage their account balances and funding.
Key Features:
MultiCharts materially expands OANDA US’s platform selection because of its capabilities to run algorithmic rule-based trading (OANDA US does not list MultiCharts on its site, but it allows users to connect to it via an API).
But you’re here for the Autochartist feature, so let’s talk about that. Autochartist is built into OANDA Web, which, as the name suggests, is OANDA US’s proprietary web-based trading platform. OANDA Web has decent functionality because it’s powered by TradingView and takes many of its features. The Autochartist integration makes it much more of a one-platform solution, rather than users having to use Autochartist separately from the OANDA ecosystem.
My live test showed the spread for EUR/USD averaged 1.45 pips, higher than the industry average of 1.08 pips. However, OANDA US gives spread rebates in its Elite Trader program, which reduces costs for any trader with over $10m in monthly volume.
OANDA US is a market maker-style broker, but it automates the function with an internal hedging and matching engine, and gets its pricing from liquidity providers. This feels similar to a non-dealing desk, but for the sake of accuracy, they are technically a dealing desk broker.
Overall, I picked OANDA US as the best overall in the US because it is an established, well-regulated entity with excellent execution.
The forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire bring together seasoned trading professionals and experienced financial journalists. Many of our experts have been featured in leading publications such as Investopedia and Forbes, and all of them combine strong industry credentials with hands-on trading experience.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later, Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licensed futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
Huzefa Hamid is a multi-asset technical swing trader and market commentator. He began trading equities and equity options in the early 2000s before expanding into Forex and commodities, focusing on liquid instruments suited to technical analysis. A process-oriented, multi-timeframe trader, Huzefa specializes in support and resistance, trend analysis, and classic chart patterns. Drawing on his experience as a trader, broker analyst, and trading educator, Huzefa has a deep understanding of the brokerage industry, giving readers confidence in his broker reviews and recommendations.
As a Senior Content Editor at FXEmpire, Ola has revised and fact-checked over 200 broker reviews and guides. Her profound understanding of financial markets has been crucial in developing the proprietary rating system.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.